The Money Summit Sounded Like an AA Meeting

Did Larry Summers actually nod off at that Fiscal Responsibility Summit at the White House, or not?

The Financial Times reporting folks there swore they saw the president's economic council chief taking a few zzz's.

Others say Summers was simply looking down at his BlackBerry.

I say all the more power to the guy if he was nodding off.

First, he has been working a lot of hours.

Second, who could blame him? It sounded more like an AA meeting.

"Hi, my name is Congressman Jones and I’ve been wasting taxpayers' money for decades but I want to stop."

No one said that, of course, but they might as well have. Because while I’m delighted all sides got together to slap around big issues, they spent more time slapping themselves, and each other, on the back. And that doesn't even include the time spent sucking up to the big guy:

(Video clip of President Obama being praised by congressional members)

All my staff meetings are going to be run like that from now on. But you know, I'm sure the president liked that.

I just don't know what we got out of that. So who can blame someone for falling asleep through that? Now even if Summers wasn't snoozing, I wouldn't fault him one bit if he was.

Because how many self-congratulatory, we-gotta-do-something-for-the-American-people silliness could you take before your eyes glazed over, or worse, you simply died at the meeting?

I've been told that after a Weight Watchers meeting, those there have to lose weight after the meeting. So, the meeting's important. What you do after it, more important.

Let's just say I’ve seen a lot of meetings. And summits. And pow wows. I’m just tired.

And so far, no pow, or wow. A lot of words. A lot of promises. A lot of back slapping.

But telling me how good it is to meet doesn't meet the minimum of doing good. That part I’d sleep through.